Debra Messing gave Madonna a fake name during her Will & Grace cameo

09 February 2018

Newsdesk

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Debra Messing gave Madonna a fake moniker when she appeared on Will & Grace because the singer didn't know the cast's actual names.

The Material Girl singer made a cameo appearance as the potential roommate of Megan Mullally's character Karen on the sitcom in 2003, and Megan recently revealed that the pop star had no idea what the cast's real names were.

Her co-stars Debra and Eric McCormack were asked about Madonna during an interview on The Graham Norton Show, and Debra confessed that she decided to joke around and give the singer a fake name.

"Madonna didn't have a clue who we were and she could not remember our names so I told her mine was Rachal," she recalled. "She said, 'Really? That is my Kabbalah name,' I said like, 'How about that!' so for the rest of the week she called me Rachal. When she finally realised that wasn't my name she sent me roses with a note written to 'Dear Debra.'"

Eric had the same issue but when Madonna sent him flowers, she wrote in the accompanying note, "If my husband would let me, I'd tattoo your name on my arm," referring to then-husband Guy Ritchie.

The sitcom had many celebrity guests during its original run in 1998 to 2006, including the likes of Britney Spears, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore and Elton John.

Eric explained that he got Elton on the show because he went to high school with his husband David Furnish, and he recalled one of his first encounters with the Rocket Man star.

"David called one day to say he was in town so I invited him to dinner and he brought Elton with him," he said. "I was trying to be cool but had had just enough wine to ask him to christen our new piano.

"When he asked what he should play I thought, 'I'm not going to be a schmuck and ask for Rocket Man,' so I said, 'I've Seen That Movie Too from Yellow Brick Road' and he looked up at me and said, 'I don't remember that song!'"